4 Ways to Fix OneDrive Not Opening on Startup in Windows 11

Quick Tips

• Ensure that OneDrive is set to run at startup on your Windows PC.
• You may need to check Group Policy settings or modify registry files if the issue remains.
• Consider resetting the OneDrive app on Windows if nothing else works.

Fix 1: Enable OneDrive as a Startup App

Windows 11 provides several options for running apps at startup. So, if OneDrive fails to launch whenever Windows boots, you can enable it as a startup app by following the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Then, go to Apps > Startup.

Step 2: Locate Microsoft OneDrive on the list and enable the toggle next to it.

Fix 2: Check Group Policy

The Group Policy Editor in Windows enables you to make various administrative-level changes to your system. Among its options, there’s a specific policy that can prevent OneDrive from functioning on Windows. You must ensure this particular policy is not enabled on your PC.

Note: Group Policy Editor is exclusive to Windows 11 Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions. So, if you’re using the Home edition of Windows 11, skip to the next method.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog > type gpedit.msc > press Enter.

Step 2: In the Local Group Policy Editor window, use the left pane to navigate to the following folder:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\OneDrive

Step 3: Double-click the Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage policy on your right.

Step 4: Select the Disabled or Not Configured option. Then, hit Apply, followed by OK.

Fix 3: Tweak Registry Files

When you configure an app to run at startup, Windows creates a registry entry. If a recent Windows update or a system change has altered that entry, OneDrive may fail to run on startup. Here’s what you can do to fix it.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type registry editor, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Select Yes when the UAC prompt appears.

Step 3: In the Registry Editor window, paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Step 4: Within the Run key, locate a string value named OneDrive. If you can’t find it, right-click on an empty spot in the right pane > go to New > select String Value. Name it OneDrive.

Step 5: Double-click on the OneDrive string value. Paste the following path in the Value Data field > click OK.

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.exe" /background

Restart your PC to apply these changes. After that, OneDrive will run at startup.

Fix 4: Reset OneDrive

Lastly, if none of the above solutions work, there could be a problem with OneDrive itself. You can try resetting it to see if that works.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type OneDrive, and click on Open file location.

Step 2: In the File Explorer window, right-click on the OneDrive app, and select Copy as path.

Step 3: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. In the Open field, paste the file path of the OneDrive executable file, followed by /reset, and hit OK.

After resetting the OneDrive app, configure it to run on startup one more time. You shouldn’t encounter any issues after that.